Wheat cleaner and heater



No. 6I5,382. Patented Dec. 6, |898. L. D. BRUEMMER.

WHEAT CLEANER AND HEATER.

(Apphcatxon fxled Feb.' 2, 1895.) (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet I.

No. 65,382. Patented nec. 6, |898.

L. D.BBUEMMER WHEAT CLEANER AND HEATER.

(Applicatin led Feb. 2, 1895.)

(No Model.) 2 Sheet-Sheet 2.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LOUIS D. BRUEMMER, OF AHNPEE, VISCONSIN.

WHEA-T CLEANER AND HEATER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 615,382, dated December 6, 1898.

Application tiled February 2, 1895. Serial No. 537,107. (No model.)

To all whom, it' may concern.-

Be it known that I, Louis D. BRUEMMER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Ahnapee, in the county of Kewaunee and State of lVisconsin, have invented a new and useful lVheat Cleaner and Heater, of which the following is a specitication.

This invention relates to an improved wheat cleaning and heating machine; and ithas for its object to provide a simple and practical machine of this character in which the grain is cleaned and polished without breaking and wherein the heating is accomplished by friction. In carrying out this object the invention essentially consists in a casing provided, respectively, at its opposite closed ends with inlet and outlet openings, a partition divid' ing the interior of the casing into twocompartments of different lengths and having a single-valved retarding-opening,which opening is of a smaller area than one or more of the feed or supply passages for the grain and is also of a smaller area than'the outlet-opening. In combination with this construction of casing the invention contemplates the use of a sectional drum having separate long and short portions arranged, respectively, within the separate compartments of the casing and carrying a peripheral seriesof fiat-faced flights which operate against the material within the narrow uniformal working spaces between the peripheries of the drum-sections and the casing. The invention further contemplates, as essential parts of the combination described, an exhaust-fan which has a draft communication with the smaller compartment of the casing through the outletopening for the grain and the force-feed spider arranged directly adjacentvto the inlet for the grain and constructed so as to throw the material out into the uniformal working space surrounding the periphery of the longer drumsection, all of said parts combining to provide for the practical and efficient operation of the machine. y

Further objects and advantages of the invention will appear in the following description, and the preferred manner of embodying the different parts of the machine is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of the machine constructed in accordance with this invention. Fig. 2 is a transverseV sectional view on the line 2 2 of Fig. l. Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view on the line 3 3 of Fig. l. Fig. at is a transverse sectional view on the line 4 4 of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a detail view in perspective of one of the iights or plates of the rotary drum.

Similar numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures of the drawings.

l designates a framework which supports a horizontally-disposed perforated cylindrical casing 2, provided at an intermediate point with a transverse partition 3 and having terminal heads 4 and 5 at its inlet and outlet eX- tremities. Communicating with the inlet end of the casing is a feed-spout 6, provided with a series of longitudinal partitions 7. One or more of the compartments thus formed may be closed by means of a slide-valve S, whereby the desired number of compartments or chutes may be employed to supplyV the grain at the desired rapidity.

Mounted axially in the casing is a shaft 9, which carries a rotary cylinder or drum 10 and 1l, the longer portion 'l0 being arranged in the compartment l2 of the casing and the shorter portion 11 in the compartment 13 of the same or upon opposite sides of the partition 3, communication being established be.- tween said compartments of the casing through a diamond-shaped opening 14. This opening may be partly closed by means of a valve 15, having in its' lower edge a notch 16, a ring 18'being connected, by means of an adjusting connection 17, with the free end of said valve. The notch 16 is of an inverted-V shape, and the opening 14: is diamond shape, whereby as the valve 15 descends the shape of the opening 11i remains the same even when partly closed. Arranged upon this shaft 9, at the inlet end of the casing and contiguous to the adjacent end of the rotary cylinder, is a force or feed spider 19, provided with radial forwardly-converted wings or arms 20, which are adapted to receive the grain as it is discharged from the spout and force it centrifugally into the space between the cylinder and the casing. Secured in longitudinal series to the surface of the rotarycylinder are the fiights or studs 2l, iiattened upon opposite sides, as shown at 22, and increasing in IOO agitation of thesame.

width toward their extremities. are preferably provided with threaded stems 23 to engage suitable threaded sockets 24 in the cylinder, and the blades of the flights are arrangedv at an inclination to the axis of the cylinder in order to cause an impulse longitudinally to the grain during the rotation of the cylinder. The outer extremities of these flights are arranged close to the surface of the casing, so as to come in contact with all of the grain contained in the latter, and the flights in adjacent parallel series are inclined in opposite directions, as shown clearly in Fig. l, whereby the impulse which is given to the grain is in opposite directions by the adjacent series of lli ghts, thus causing a violent This agitation and the frictional contact of the flights with the grain cause the heatingof the latter` in the compartment 12; but after passing through the openin g 14lthe grain is freely and quickly carried by the short drum-section 11 toward the outlet-opening 25 in the head 5 and during this travel becomes cooled gradually.

In order to allow the grain to cool in the compartment 13 of the casing, the outlet 25 therefrom is made larger than the opening 14, and in order to provide for crowding and heating the grain in the compartment 12 the grain must be admitted more freely through the chute or spout 6 than it can escape through the opening 14. The partitions 7 in the chute or spout provide for gaging the amount of grain which is allowed to enter therethrough, one or more of `the compartments of the chute or spout being opened, as required, by the position of the slide or valve 8.

The outlet-opening 25 communicates with an air-trunk 26, into which the grain is discharged, and an upward current of air is induced through this trunk by means of a fan 27, which is located in a fan-casing communicating therewith, a dust-pocket 28 being interposed between the air-trunk and the fancasing in order to receive heavy particles of dust which may be discharged by means of a slide-valve 29. A valve 30 is interposed between the dust-pocket and the trunk 26 to vary the force of the draft which is caused in the trunk. 31 represents a screw-conveyer of the ordinary construction, which is shown in connection with the improved mechanism, the same receiving motion by means of a belt 32 from the shaft 9, the latter receiving motion in the ordinary way through a belt-pulley 33. This conveyer is designed to receive dust discharged through the perforations of the casing during the securing of the grain and carry it to the exterior of. the machine, as in the ordinary construction.

This being the construction of the improved apparatus it will be understood that the heating of the grain in the casing is accomplished by frictional contact and rapid agitation, resulting from the small passage between the exterior surface of the cylinder and the inte- These flightsl rior surface of the casing, which conforms cross-sectionally with the cylinder and the peculiar disposition of the flights and their arrangement at opposite inclinations. Obviously this heating of the grain is due in a great measure to the contact thereof with the perforated wall of the casing, and in order to increase this effect I apply outward or centrifugal pressure to the grain by reason of the outward reduction in thickness of the flights, whereby the side surfaces of the blades are beveled, and by combining with this centrifugal pressure the alternate inclination or diagonal disposition of the flights I obtain a scouring action, which insures the efficient removal of dust and other foreign matter from the surface of the grain. The equal longitudinal pressure in opposite directions, by reason of the alternate inclination in opposite directions of the flights, prevents the flights from accomplishing the forward feeding movement of the grain through the cylinder, and hence in order to accolnplish the said feeding movement I employ the abovedescribed force-feed device 19, having radial blades, which extend terminally beyond the surface of the rotary cylinder and preferably to a point as near to the wall of the exterior cylinder or casing as the extremities of the flights, said blades being curved or bowed toward their extremities, whereby they press the grain laterally or radially toward the wall of the outer cylinder and then forwardly to induce the longitudinal movement thereof through the machine.

It should be understood that the grain is fed at such a rapidity through the chute as to cause sufficient compression in the cylinder to produce scouring and heating. This heating or tempering of the grain is thus caused by friction, and after passing the opening 14 in the partition 3 the grain is partially cooled in order to prevent the flour from sticking to the bran and produce a more granular flour and middlings. Furthermore, the middlings are thus in a condition to be more easily produced to make a clearer and less low grade of flour.

As soon as the wheat is discharged from the air-trunk it should be reduced into flour before time has elapsed to allow it to coolentirely, the object of the air-trunk being to remove the dampness or sweating on the grain, and thus prevent sweating in the rolls, spouts, and flour-bolts.

' I attach especial importance in my apparatus to the cylindrical casing divided into compartments by a partition having a single valve-controlled opening at the bottom thereof to establish and regulate the communication between the compartments, a single axial shaft extending entirely through the casing and serving as the means for actuating the feed mechanism, the two cylinders, and the exhaust-fan, the two cylinders attached to the shaft within the respective compartments of the casing and each carrying a plu- IOC IIO

rality of beaters in which the beaters of one series are arranged in reversely-inclined positions in relation to the beaters of the other series and all of said beaters arranged to sweep close to the annular surface of the casing, a rotary feeder situated directly within the first or primary scouring-compartment of the casing between the feed-inlet and the drum 10 therein, and a suction-fan carried by the distant end of the shaft and arranged within a fan-casing separate from the drum and communicating with a Wind-trunk to which the grain from the cylindrical casing delivers the grain after it has been scoured and partially cooled within the casing. In

my machine the scouring of the grain is necessarily attended by more or less heating due to the friction which exists between the beaters, the casing, and the grain in the primary scouring-compartment. Hence it is important that the grain shall be cooled in its travel through the secondary chamber of the casing; and as the final step of treatment the grain is aerated and the impurities eliminated by the suction-blast of air in the wind-trunkl into which the grain and refuse are deposited directly from the casing, all of these operations being performed successively and continuously in a single machine.

In my machine the grain is admitted to the primary scouring-chamber in regulated volumes from the valve-con trolled divided spout to be delivered directly upon the armed feeder, which throws the grain radially by centrifugal force directly outward against the cylindrical casing to force the same into the narrow uniformal working space between the drum and casin g, and the chambered casing is thus designed to be filled with the grain between its wall and the drum for the beaters to properly act upon the grain, so as to remove the hulls and dirt Atherefrom by friction. The passage of the grain through the hence the grain in said secondary compartment is not subjected to as much friction from the beaters of the drum ll, so thatl the grain is in a measure cooled as it travels through` said secondary compartment.V

The grain and refuse from the casing are deposited directly in the air-trunk, which is divided into two chambers, with the fan-casing in a plane between said chambers, as shown by Fig. l, and the port or opening between such chambers of the trunk maybe opened more or less by the valve 30, adapted to nd a seat against the fan-casing, thus regulating the strength of the suction-cur rent from the Wind-trunk to the fan-casing.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed, and desired to be secured by Letters Patent, is

`In a machine of the class described, the combination of a horizontal cylindrical casing provided respectively at its opposite `closed ends with inlet and outlet openings for the grain, a partition dividing the interiorof the casing into separate heating and cooling compartments of different lengths, and provided at its bottom edge with a singlevalved retarding-opening of a smaller area than the inlet for the grain, and also of a smaller area than the outlet-openin g, the relative size of said openings providing for a crowding of the material within the longer or heating compartment of the casing, and a freer passage through the shorter or cooling compartmentl to the outlet-opening, a sectional rotary drum having separate long and short portions arranged respectively within the heating and cooling compartments and carrying a peripheral series of iights which operate against the material within the narrow uniformal Working spaces between the peripheries of the drum-sections and the casing, a fan having adraft communication with the shorter'or cooling compartment through IOO primary scouring-compartment is retarded by twofold devices-I e., the contracted valve-controlled port I4 between the compartments and the reverse angular arrangement of the beater-blades on the drum, said beater-blades serving to retard the passage of the grain and act on thev grain by attrition to clean the same, While the movement of the grain is effected by the mechanical action of the feeder, which constantly accumulates the grain in the case and by increasing the bulk or quantity of grain causes its expulsion through the secondary compartment, from which it is free to escape more readily through the port 25 than through the port 14, and' LOUIS D. BRUEMMER Vit'nesses:

MATrs MELCHIOR, MICHAEL MnLoHroR.

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